The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives says it has successfully offered help to all troubled rice and rubber farmers as planned.
Speaking about the government’s performance during the past six months, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Pitipong Puengbun na Ayuddhya said the government had distributed over 60 billion baht to rice and rubber growers affected by falling agro-product prices and drought in its short-term solutions.
Regarding solutions to drought-related problems, Pitipong said the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives offered affected rice farms compensation of 1,000 baht per rai and provided them with job opportunities, organic agriculture training programs, and water supplies for farming. More than 3.5 million households have benefited from the Ministry’s assistance measures.
As for the rubber industry, the Ministry has also provided compensation of 1,000 baht per rai to more than 767,000 households and approved loans of 20 billion baht for rubber farmers via financial institutions.
As the long-term solutions, the Ministry has planned to revamp the structure of the country’s agricultural development through its various projects which number over 3,000. The revamp is expected to enable farmers to earn more income in a sustainable manner ahead of an upcoming farming season.
